By Cecil Hoge

October, 2026

I saw an article the other day that mentioned the Oil Market had a case of the “jitters”. Then I saw another article that said AI had the “jitters”.

It seems to me that America has the “jitters”.

When I speak of America I am referring to the United States of America, the same America that President Donald Trump refers to in his now famous MAGA movement.

I am not sure Donald Trump has the “jitters”. He has done pretty well in the last couple of years. And The President seems quite confident that the American economy is the best it has ever been.

When I scan my long memory of the American economy, I do not think this the best economy the U.S. has ever had. Yes, we do have stock markets at all time highs, yes, employment is pretty close to full, yes, this is a pretty prosperous period, so far. But is this the best economy America has ever had?

I don’t think so.

I think this is one of the most difficult economies America ever had.

 And I think America has the “jitters”.

According to the dictionary Merriam-Webster, “the meaning of jitter is a sense of panic or extreme nervousness”. 

So, I suppose when we add the letter s to jitter, it means we have a sense of panic or extreme nervousness about several things.

And if you ask me, I think America has the “jitters” about many things.

I will mention a few of the concerns that U.S. citizens presently have.

Mid Term Elections – maybe, even President is worried about that one. But the way Republicans and Democrats are fussing and fighting you would think we all are all either Communists or Nazis.

The Price of Gas & Oil – no doubt about it, it has been drifting up. And that causes a lot of other things to drift up.

Social Security – some politicians and other folks say Social Security benefits might just run out in 6 years – Yipes!

Cost of Living – it isn’t just gas and oil…a whole lot of things have gone up and a whole lot of things are still going up. Oops.

The War with Iran – it seems easy to start something and harder to finish something, especially if you have some stated goals you would like to achieve and they don’t match up well with the stated goals of your enemy. Holy Smokes!

Climate Change – I know there seems to be some disputes about whether there is or there ain’t, but it does seem to be getting warmer and stormier.

The War in Ukraine – maybe, solving that problem was more difficult than anticipated and maybe it never was going to be solved in one day.

Hurricanes – not much in the Atlantic, but plenty in the Pacific. Let’s blame it on El Niño.

Nuclear War – sure would be good if we don’t have one.

Droughts – if there are some places where there are too many storms, there are other places where there are too few storms.

Fires – where there be drought and wind, there be fires. And when lightning strikes, there be more fires.

Stock Markets – up one day, down next. Up, up, up, down, up, down, down, up, up…what’s an investor to think? If you ask me, I think markets are about to blow a gasket, but I am just one guy.

AI – with big investments come big opportunities, with really big investments, come really big risks and that assumes AI agents are not going to systematically assassinate us. And apparently, that may not be a valid assumption.

Pneumonic Plague – is it real or memorex? When will Vlad the Bad let us know if we should panic or just chug vodka. Airborne Bubonic Plague is really something to get the “jitters” about. Then again, it just might be nothing.

Yup, there is a lot for Americans to be concerned about as we approach winter in 2026.

And let’s not forget there are other people on this planet and they got their own concerns.

You might say the whole world has the “jitters”.